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My books

A SUITABLE LIE

Description

Andy Boyd thinks he is the luckiest man alive. Widowed with a young child, after his wife dies in childbirth, he is certain that he will never again experience true love. Then he meets Anna. Feisty, fun and beautiful, she’s his perfect match… And she loves his son, too. When Andy ends up in the hospital on his wedding night, he receives his first clue that Anna is not all that she seems. He ignores it; a dangerous mistake that could cost him everything. A brave, deeply moving psychological thriller which marks a stunning departure for one of Scotland’s top crime writers.

REVIEWS

“A terrific read, finished it in one sitting. Disturbing at times but compulsive. It makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Loved it!” – Martina Cole.

“A brilliant and disturbing novel. Be prepared to have your emotions not only stirred, but turned upside-down and inside-out – This book insidiously curls around you like a boa-constrictor – and it won’t release you until you have read the final page” – Crimesquad.com

“Bristling with unease, this is domestic noir at its very darkest, twisting the marriage thriller into a new and troubling shape’ – Eva Dolan

BAD SAMARITAN

Description

A Glasgow student is found dead in a city-centre alley, kickstarting a trail of brutality that drives DI Ray McBain to the very edge, staring into the abyss…The victim’s family and friends are all under suspicion, and McBain has to untangle a sordid web of lies, deceit, blackmail, infidelity and cyberstalking. And when Stigmata, a deranged serial killer from McBain’s tortured past, starts taking out new victims – with the suspects and McBain himself in his sights – the case gets even more treacherous. The pressure intensifies until McBain calls on Kenny O’Neill, his old underworld crony, to help watch his back. Will that be enough to stop the killing?

REVIEWS

“Strong female characters, honest, pithy dialogue and ever-present empathy for the victims make this a deeply satisfying read.” –Sunday Times

BEYOND THE RAGE

Description

Even though he’s a successful criminal, Glasgow villain Kenny O’Neill is angry. Not only has his high-class escort girlfriend just been attacked, but his father is reaching out to him from the past despite abandoning Kenny as a child after his mother’s suicide. Kenny is now on a dual mission to hunt down his girl’s attacker and find out the truth about his father… but instead he unravels disturbing family secrets and finds that revenge is not always sweet. An intelligent, violent thriller shot through with dark humour, Beyond the Rage enthralls and disturbs in equal measure. With an intricate plot, all-too-believable characters and perfectly pitched dialogue, this is a masterclass in psychological crime fiction writing.

Reviews

“Beyond The Rage is a deeply personal thriller that will keep the reader turning those pages with twists and turns designed to keep the heart pumping. The best yet from a writer who has always delivered.’

Russel D McLean

“Michael J. Malone brings a poet’s sensibilities to the crime novel but still manages to deliver a belter of a yarn.”

Douglas Skelton

THE GUILLOTINE CHOICE
(with Bashir Saoudi)

Description

In 1920s French-controlled Algeria, Kaci is in the frame for the brutal murder of his French boss. Kaci is faced with a stark choice: name his cousin as the killer and win his freedom, or keep quiet and face 25 years’ hard labour in the infamous Devil’s Island penal colony. Either way, one of them is destined for the world’s worst prison…a hell on earth that few men survive. The Guillotine Choice is a novel based on the true story of an Algerian man’s years in one of history’s most notorious prisons. A real-life Shawshank Redemption, it is an inspirational story of endurance and the triumph of dignity over despair in almost unimaginably horrific conditions.

Reviews

“Vivid and powerful…a harrowing depiction of what it is – and isn’t – to be a man.”

Scots Magazine

“A remarkable story told with rare skill, The Guillotine Choice is at once fascinating, moving and thrilling. Malone writes beautifully. A wonderful achievement.”

Chris Ewan

A TASTE FOR MALICE

Description

DI Ray McBain is back at work and on filing duty. Desperate for something to do, a pair of old files intrigue him. In the first a woman pushes her way into a vulnerable family. The children adore her. At first. Then she has some ‘fun’, which soon becomes torture and mental cruelty. Then she disappears. Meanwhile, in Ayrshire, another young family is relieved when a stranger comes into their lives to help them out. McBain makes the link, but nobody is interested in what he has to say.

Reviews

“Quite simply one of the best novels I’ve read in the last ten years.”

Caro Ramsay

“ … invites questions about how easily we trust strangers who are designated as carers and cleverly subverts the conventional portayal of sadists, showing just how damaging small acts of violence can be. Deeply disturbing and emotionally charged, A Taste for Malice is a must read for fans of psychological crime fiction.”

Loitering with Intent, Blog

BLOOD TEARS

Description

A body is discovered: the terrible mutilations spell out the wounds of the Stigmata. For Glasgow DI Ray McBain, the killings are strangely familiar… and then the dreams begin. The first in a series of books featuring DI Ray McBain, a Glasgow detective who has too many friends in the underworld for his own good, but enough to support him when he goes on the run, the main suspect in a murder case.

Reviews

“Michael Malone is one of those new writers that you feel you’ve known a long time. Blood Tears blasts onto the Tartan Noir scene like a bullet. Big, bold themes and terrific humour amidst the darkness makes this my debut of the year.”

Tony Black

“Tough, funny, dark and so in your face it hurts, a superb piece of writing.”

Ken Bruen, novelist

Carnegie’s Call
Develop the Success Habit
(non-fiction)

Description

Michael Malone interviews high profile Scots who have distinguished themselves and seeks to understand attitudes to success. He uncovers some fascinating insights into how we can develop the success habit.

The inspiration for this book was a Scot. For such a small nation the Scots have been influential in so many areas of the planet’s development. Yet Scots have a problem with achievement. Why are so many Scottish people suspicious of our fellow countrymen and women who are successful?

And why do so many of our people go abroad before their abilities are recognised?

How many of us are held back, in whatever sphere we wish for success, by such attitudes?

What advice do the successful have to make dramatic improvements in one’s life and business?